Introduction

Abstract

This book introduces a feminist philosophy of sex whose express purpose is to advance the dialogue among the competing viewpoints on women's sexual liberation. It argues that a philosophical and feminist dialogue on women's sexual liberation is possible if women's sexuality—the erotic passions, pleasures, and preferences that circumscribe women as sexually desiring and desirable beings—is examined from two equally compelling perspectives: the perspective of women's sexual oppression under conditions of individual and institutionalized male dominance; and the perspective of women's sexual liberation, identified both in terms of each woman's personal pursuit of sexual agency and self-definition and in terms of the sexual liberation of women as a class. This book believes that a caring as well as critical understanding of this variety is essential to a feminism committed to cultural pluralism and social equity.